Notes / Commercial Description:
"Nightfall Blackberry starts as a soured blonde wheat beer aged for 12 months in oak barrels, then laid on blackberries for another six. It features intense fruitiness and a concentrated color and aroma."

More User Reviews:

Dark violet in color with a very small dark khaki colored head. This leaves small dots of lace down the glass. Very pretty and unique color. I haven't seen many beers that look like this.

The aroma has quite a bit of authentic blackberry character, along with nice sour character, and distinct oak. This is complete, bright, and powerfully aromatic. Wonderful.

This is a marvelous blackberry sour. There is lots of juicy, bright, vibrant, authentic blackberry flavor, lots of acidic sour character, and distinct barrel. This is fantastic. I couldn't imagine a much better blackberry beer/sour.

On tap @ the Cascade Brewing Barrel House (Portland, OR) on 9/4/11. Served in a teardrop goblet.

Pours a deep clear ruby (almost a cranberry color), with a ½ finger of creamy looking pink-hued head. This retains with some foamy richness around the edges, leaving back a rich cascade of lace that quickly slides down the sides of the glass. The aroma smells a bit musty on top, before giving way to tart berries and some dark fruit as well. There is a touch of background sweetness as well but its’ that berry tartness that is driving this for the most part.

The taste starts with fresh and tart feeling fruit, with a darker berry presence along the back. There isn’t a whole lot of sweetness here, with the job of balancing that tartness out seeming to fall mostly with the fruit here. But I’m overall digging the bright and flavorful berry tartness of this, as it runs the whole way through the profile and then lingers in the finish with a memorable deep dryness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and slicker feeling up front, with a more sharp and lively carbonation then taking over. For 8% ABV, this is pretty darn smooth.

This was another really accessible sour beer from Cascade. I didn’t really find to be very acidic feeling at all. Just a whole lot of fresh and clean tart berry flavors that popped on the palate. This was enjoyable.

Draft at the Barrel House into a branded stubby chalice, the beer is a ruby-red color with pinkish head. Blackberries upfront with lots of musty, tart, and earthy play. Nice oak presence. Good push-pull between sweet and tart. Moderate body and carbonation. Very well put together.

Arbitrator provided this one at ipa247's massive two day beer tasting. Thanks, Arbi.

Raspberry red in the glass, bright and clear, topped by a frothy pink head that settles to a crown. Must and funk dominate the aroma, with undertones of tart and sweet berries. There's a mineral/metallic component that becomes more pervasive as the beer warms. On the tongue I get tart fruit and moderate lactic sourness. Blackberries are evident and nicely balanced with the dry, crackery malt foundation. As in the aroma, there's a mineral-like quality that reminds me of hard water. The finish is dry and funky, with the fruit taking a back seat to the pungent brettanomyces flavors.

Pours a dark purple with a pink head. Floral hop aroma with berry undertones. Unfortunately, this was incredibly sour, but you could still pick up some blackberry and current flavors as well as some nice hops.

Ultimately, good flavor, but a bit too sour that leaves my mouth puckering. Infinitely better than many sours out there, but not one of Cascade's best offerings

Poured a cherry brown color with a big fluff of pinkish head. Scents of cherry, blackberry, and blueberry; moderately musty. Taste is full of berry goodness, tart and sour, with kind of a wheat beer acid profile, and a bit of funk as was detected in the nose. Medium-bodied, and a little harsh in the aftertaste, but very nice overall.

Deep purplish red body with a massive, 3+ finger fluffy head that looks like a pink cumulus cloud. Incredible head retention and loads of lacing. The head barely shrinks in size down to the last drop, yet somehow is leaving crazy clumpy/soapy lacing all over the place. What a wild looking beer.

Huge tart blackberry aroma, with some musty earthiness and oak in the background. Absolutely mouth-watering.

For a moment, I taste nothing but blackberries. Lots and lots of of blackberries both sweet and sour, like a huge moutfheel of ripe berries with a few sour as hell half-ripe ones thrown into the mix. After the initial berry shock, I get some of the same earth and oak qualities I smelled as well. Sweet and sour play tug-of-war with the tongue, with neither side . How the hell did they cram this much wonderful blackberry flavor into one glass???

Medium-light bodied with lively carbonation and an incredibly long fruity finish. Leaves the mouth sticky and makes you want to check between your teeth for seeds.

Overall impression: Best sour I've had so far. One of the few "holy shit" beers of the year for me.

Nightfall pours a dark red color with OK head retention, but with considerable sticky lacing all around. The nose on this bad boy is outrageous, with considerable sour funk and an ocean of blackberry aroma. The flavors replicate the nose, and while I enjoyed this beer, I really would have appreciated a bit less sour. There was still enough blackberry flavor to keep it all in check, but it was still very much in your face sour, with some noticeable vinegar, wet blanket and horse sweat (I got this more on the nose then the plate, but it was still pretty intense). On the other hand, the sour component didn't overwhelm the beer (as it does with so many other sour ales), and this was a beer I was able to appreciate and enjoy. Mouthfeel was light to medium with the 8% abv. completely hidden. Drinkability is pretty good and would probably be outstanding if you love sours.

Excellent stuff, even if the sour component was a bit much for my palate.

On tap at the Barrel House, 2011 version. Strangely, the menu did not list Nightfall blackberries as being used.

A beautiful clear ruby red with a thin, pink-tinged white head with decent retention, this beer is attractive. The nose is a glorious mix of blackberries and a prominent berry tartness. A mild cocoa character is present, along with a fruity red wine character, moderately juicy. Rose water rounds out the nose. The palate opens with a clean, lactic tartness, moderate oak and with a clean, fresh, fruity berry character. There's a bend of blackberries and dark cherries here. The sourness is clean and crisp. Light in body and moderately carbonated, this beer finishes with a blend of lactic tartness, mild barrel character and moderate berry sweetness. Excellent stuff.